Haus Advisors

Contractors vs Employees in the AI Era

Full-time staff didn't get pricier - it's that their output stopped being rare, so the same payroll earns you less.

Chart: Contractors vs Employees in the AI Era. Full-time staff didn't get pricier - it's that their output stopped being rare, so the same payroll earns you less.
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The mechanism

The chart shows three stacked bars, each split into cost on the bottom and the profit on top. A 2022 full-timer leaves 40 percent as profit; the same full-timer in 2026 leaves only 29 percent because the work they do is no longer special. A contractor plus AI in 2026 leaves 61 percent because you only pay for the work when you need it. Your costs are still set up like it's 2022, but the market now pays for results, not for hours on payroll.

Part of Persistence. Infrastructure that keeps growth compounding past founder heroics.